Tag Archives: dreams

Welcome to 21 Days of Strength. We’ve been focusing on how to strengthen ourselves in the Lord. No doubt, if we follow Christ, we’re always in some kind of battle. And like any good soldier, it pays to be strong–fit for the fight. I’ve learned through the years that it helps to be practical, as well as spiritually prepared, if I want to be strong. Simply lightening my load, both mentally and physically, gives me more strength. Decluttering my soul and my surroundings renews energy. I’ve also found that structure and order keep me mentally healthy–able to stay positive.

Strength is somehow connected to our habits. I’ve discovered that simple daily habits build strength—which in turn, helps keep hope alive. Small habits can lead to large actions. Large actions lead to big dreams and big dreams have wider reaching and even world changing impact. And since we are talking about ways to increase our strength, I thought I’d share the following words of practical advice from a member of our armed forces and a man whose life, and the lives of his men, depended on staying fit for battle.

Navy Admiral and former SEAL William H. McRaven challenged graduates in his commencement address at University of Texas to dare to change their world. But he started off by talking about the importance of our habits:

“Changing the world can happen anywhere and anyone can do it,” he said. “But change starts with small actions. Every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle hardened SEALs—but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over. If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.”

His advice to the graduates? “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the reminder that the little things really do matter. Please show me some small, daily habits could help me build my strength in You.

Some of God’s best miracles happen behind closed doors. Jesus instructed his disciples to go into their room and shut the door when they prayed. Their Father, who “sees in secret,” would reward them, He promised. We may discover that God gives strength when we’re out of sight. Hidden from people. Away from distractions.

I’m glad you’ve joined 21 Days of Strength. We’re taking a look at some of the ways God empowers us. But occasionally, He puts us behind a closed door to not just to strengthen us, but to protect us from a situation that is about to get dangerous.

Sometimes, when God plans to judge sin, He tells us to shut the door to protect us from His wrath. “Wait a minute,” you may be saying. “You mean God judges sin here and now—not just in eternity?” You bet. In fact, the Bible is filled with examples of people whose hearts grew so hard that they eventually got what was coming to them in this life. In real time. And in eternity.

Think about the massive flood during the days of Noah. Or the incineration of Sodom and Gomorroah. Or the 40 laps around the wilderness for those Israelites who refused to trust God—even after all the miracles they had witnessed. The Apostle Paul reminds us that these things happened as “examples and warnings” to us. (1 Corinthians 10:11).

Let’s look at God’s instructions to the children of Israel while slaves in Egypt. “Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning” (Exodus 12:20-22). In other words, “Shut the door and stay put!”

God was about to do two very dramatic things:

First, He was about to judge the Egyptians for their refusal to heed His repeated warnings to release the Jews. He sent a destroying angel to strike down the firstborn son of each Egyptian home, passing over those homes that had blood on their door. The children of Israel could finally leave after hundreds of years of slavery—and begin their journey to the Promised Land.

Second, He provided the Israelites with an important foreshadowing of the redemption which would take place though the coming Messiah. The blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, would bring forgiveness of sin and protect people from God’s wrath forever.

Remember: God may shut the door–for a season–to protect us. The prophet Isaiah said it this way: “Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by. See, the Lord is coming out of His dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins” (Isaiah 26:20-21).

My friend, are you discouraged by that “shut door” in your life? God seems to have knocked you off course in a relationship. Or a plan. Or a dearly-held dream. But as my husband is fond of saying, “Rejection is God’s protection.” God may take us out of the game when He’s preparing to “take care of business.” He sometimes strengthens us by shielding us while He cleans up a mess that’s not of our making.

So be patient. Seek the Lord. Use this time to grow strong. To prepare for the purpose that awaits you as soon as this storm is over. And don’t forget to look for miracles behind closed doors.

Do you ever feel like your dream will never come true? The obstacles just won’t budge. You can’t seem to win your spiritual battle, no matter how much you pray and pray and pray. And you feel like you are losing hope. Perhaps you need a breakthrough.

Breakthrough was first used as a military term to signify an offensive thrust past the defensive lines of warfare. The word entered the realm of common speech during the technological age, often used to describe a sudden discovery or invention. Breakthroughs usually occur only after repeated failures.

Think about it. Thomas Edison tried unsuccessfully over ten thousand times before his final breakthrough invention of the electric light bulb. The Wright brothers experienced hundreds of crashes before their breakthrough in flight. And countless scientists performed endless experiments before breakthroughs in DNA research. Continue reading

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for…” (Hebrews 1:1 KJV). What things are you hoping for? I come from several generations of school teachers. If your mother was anything like mine, she reminded you never to end a sentence with a dangling preposition, such as “hoping for.” So let’s ask the question another way: “For what things are you hoping?” The King James Version completes the verse: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” There’s a mysterious element, an “unseen” aspect to this thing called hope.

According to my “big fat Greek Bible,” the word elpis, translated as “hope,” describes an “inner, psychological sense of hope” and defines it as “confidence, eager anticipation, expectation, longing, or aspiration of the heart.”*

That’s a big hope—a risky, audacious brand of hope. I don’t see a lot of “high hope” these days. People seem guarded. Cautious. Afraid to “get their hopes up.” I don’t know about you, but I am more afraid of low-level living–without this kind of daring hope–than I am of falling from the cliff of high hopes.

Let’s ponder the question one more time: What are you hoping for? Let the thought roll around in your mind. Take it to the Lord and ask: “Lord, is this hope from you?” Then, over the next few days, seek Him with your whole heart. Watch. Listen. Spend time in His Word. Share your hope or dream with a wise friend.

Remember. Hope is hard. It calls for courage. It’s costly and requires constant filling by the Holy Spirit. Over the years, I have learned that to hold onto a high hope, you have to stay close to Jesus.

But with a God-given hope, the sticking power of the Holy Spirit, the affirmation of God’s Word, and a few good friends, nothing is too good to be true. And nothing is too hard for God.

Our God-given hopes and dreams can impact the entire direction of our life. The Bible reminds us of the importance of dreams: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18 KJV). Some of the most courageous women I know are mothers raising their children in fragile neighborhoods. These moms know that dreams can divert their children from drugs, gangs, and prison. Dreams mean survival.

My young friend Dominique was just ten when some gang members befriended him. “I was kind of a mascot,” as he puts it. But gang mascots eventually become gang members, and he was headed for trouble. One day, Dominique discovered an online chess game. He got the hang of it and became good—really good. Before too long, he was “busy” when gang members called. Dominique was way too busy finding his purpose to run with gangs.

By the time he was in high school, Dominique had become the top scholastic chess player in the state of North Carolina. In his college application, Dominique wrote: “By getting closer to the One who allowed me this chance, and continuing with the plan that we dreamed up together when I was a young child, I feel that I will be able to help someone else and make a lasting impact.”

Dominique didn’t attend church growing up. But as a small child he had a sense of God’s destiny and a mysterious awareness of His calling through his childhood dreams of playing chess. And when he heard a clear presentation of the Gospel his first semester in college, the vibrant young man accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior.

Dominique recently graduated from college–the first to do so in his family. He plans to pursue a master’s degree. And he continues to play chess. He’s made his way into the realm of international competition. This week, he’s playing against some of the best in the world at a match in London.

One thing is clear. Dominique’s earthly dreams had eternal implications that went far beyond the mastery of chess. A reminder to take seriously the hopes and dreams of those children entrusted to our care. Mother Teresa put it this way: Tread gently around the dreams of a child. You might be treading on the dreams of God.